"Amir?" Bancroft craned his neck to look at the man Kincade was referring to. The king was being held at gunpoint while kneeling on the ground, and Tom was currently in the process of binding the king's hands behind his back.
The king's face paled. He looked like he had just seen a ghost. "No," he murmured, "you're dead!"
Astryd struggled to find the man Bancroft was looking at. From her position near the back of the throne room she could just barely see Kincade's flaming hair. She craned her neck to peer through the crowd of people but could not find the man Kincade was addressing.
The prince finally spoke from among the crowd. "Presumed dead, actually," he stated calmly as he stepped forward into everyone's view.
Astryd gasped as she saw the man step out of the crowd. "Will?"
He looked to Astryd and gave her a slight nod and a smile as he passed by her. The crowd parted for him as he advanced toward Bancroft, who started squirming in his constraints. There was a deafening silence that spread throughout the room.
"Astryd!" a female voice exclaimed. Astryd saw a flash of red before someone gave her a hug so forcibly it nearly knocked her back to the ground.
"Carmen!" Astryd exclaimed as she hastily returned the hug.
"I'm so glad you're all right," said Carmen in a relieved tone.
As Astryd was released from the hug, she turned back to the crowd, still keeping Carmen close. "Can someone please explain to me what is going on?"
Kincade opened his mouth to say something, but Will placed a hand on Kincade's shoulder. "I think I can handle this," he said in a slightly amused tone.
"I think it's time you all knew who you've been sailing with." Will raised his voice so that everyone in the room could hear. "Some of you don't know me very well, so to refresh your memories, I'm that one man who spends most of his time steering the ship, getting us safely to port, and always trying to ignore everyone." This caused a few chuckles throughout the room, "Although, I am also Prince Amir, rightful heir to the throne of Esterbell."
Astryd noticed that as the men began murmuring among themselves, Tom whispered something in Will's ear. Will's eyes widened slightly. He smiled, whispered something back, and nodded as Tom slipped out a side door.
"I won't bore you with my entire story," Will continued, and the voices began to die down again. "But this man here." He yanked Bancroft to his feet and forced him to face the crowd. The king looked both terrified and angry. "This man six years ago accused me of attempted murder. Attempting to murder him, actually. Though this was untrue, the kingdom rallied behind him because he had slowly been poisoning the people's minds with false ideas for years. So, I did the only thing I could think to do: I fled. I was lucky to find Kincade, who took me in as a cabin boy without question of my past." Kincade crossed his arms and smirked with pride. "But as you're all well aware, I moved up in the ranks and eventually ended up where I am now as the ship's pilot.
"Needless to say, I have remained on the Crescent without desire to return to Esterbell because I had no proof to go against the accusations made against me. But that has now changed."
Tom scurried back into the room and handed a piece of parchment to Will. Will unrolled the parchment, quickly scanned over it, and smiled in satisfaction. He held the parchment up for everyone to see.
"This is my proof," he proclaimed.
It was the document, the exact document that Astryd had been harboring for so long. That clever Tom! thought Astryd.
"Wait a secon'," called a man from the back of the room. "If you the prince, then how's you name Will?" Astryd recognized him to be a middle-aged man named Gaffer, one of the riggers aboard the Crescent.
Astryd pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head with a sigh.
This caused some laughter to erupt throughout the room, and eventually, Will joined in on the merriment before saying, "Well, I couldn't exactly go running around telling people who I was. So, in a panic, I took inspiration from my first dog, Wilbur."
"But all that aside," said Kincade as he walked to the center of the room, all of the crew surrounding him in a circle. "I am happy to announce we have a truce with the kingdom of Esterbell. The Crescent will continue to plunder the seas so long as we leave Esterbell to reestablish its economy."
"And reestablish Esterbell's economy I shall. But I must acknowledge the person who made all this possible." Will looked directly at Astryd with a proud smile.
Astryd remained there for a moment before Carmen gave her a gentle shove to move to the center of the room. Once Astryd was standing side by side with Will, he clapped her on the back with a grin.
"I have Astryd to thank. For as you all well know, she was the clever one that reclaimed the document in the first place. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here now. So, here's to Astryd!" Will raised his sword high in the air, and he was soon followed by the crowd copying his actions and letting out a cheer of whoops and shouts.
Among the cheers and shouts, Tom ran to Astryd and hugged her. "We did it!" he cheered.
Astryd laughed as she returned the embrace. "We did. I have one question though," Astryd took a step back to look Tom in the eye. "How in the world did you end up with the document?"
"Oh," Tom looked down at his feet. "You see it was stickin' out of your bag when you were sleepin' one night in the brig. I wanted to see what it was, and when I did, I figured out that James would want it. So, I stuffed it in my boot, and when we got inside the castle, I slipped it into a vase for safekeeping."
"You never stop amazing me, you know that?" said Astryd with a light laugh. "Thank you."
Tom's eyes shot up from the ground, and he beamed.
"Don't think I've forgotten about that reward though," said Will just loud enough for Astryd to hear as the crowd continued to laugh and cheer around them. "I'm afraid I have little to my name at the moment, but I promise you that as soon as Esterbell is restored to its former glory, you will be richly rewarded for your bravery."
Astryd scoffed. "More like out of spite and bitterness than bravery. Don't worry about the reward money. Seeing Esterbell return to that of my childhood is reward enough."
"But didn't you need the money? Kincade explained to me you wanted to leave Esterbell forever," Will asked.
"I did need it. But now, I think I found a better option." Astryd gazed around at the Crescent's crew with a smile. They were all still roaring and cheering for their victory.
They may have been a ragtag group of misfits, they may have not always played by the rules, they may have not seemed like they would make a good team to other people, but to Astryd, this was her family. This was her home.
Will nodded. "I understand, but know you are always welcome back in Esterbell no matter where the sea takes you. You will always have one of the finest rooms ready and waiting for you. I will forever be in your debt."
"Thank you," said Astryd.
AN:
Oh my, the next chapter will be the last! A lot of emotions are flooding me right now as this story is ending. I can't believe that after over a year of writing this story that I have finished the first draft!
Stay tuned for the epilogue! Comment if you're ready to read it, because it's already written!
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New Horizons (A Pirate Story)
Adventure"How dare you bring me aboard this ship without so much as telling me what you are?" She yelled. Kincade let out a smug grin, one that infuriated Astryd even more. She took a few more steps toward him so that they were mere feet apart. He looked dow...
